Georgetown

Mom and Don left Staniel Cay on Sunday, February 19th and arrived in Georgetown that afternoon. They had a really great trip there and it took less time than planned. This is the place where a regata is taking place so there are between 200-300 boats anchored nearby. Early that week the winds were high so they weren't able to get off the boat much and mom got sea sick. She is better now and hasn't had anymore trouble.

There is a little store that has internet and phone so she has been able to email us a couple of times to keep us posted and I've been able to talk to her on the phone 2 times for about 3 minutes each. Quick phone calls but so nice to hear both of their voices.

There are many activities going on so they seem to have plenty to keep them busy and are making lots of new friends, even some from Texas! It seems to be a pretty tight group because she said they keep running into people they met on other islands as they have traveled south. Steve and Kim (two friends from Plano) arrived on 2/24 to stay for a few days. I beleive they are leaving today but I know it has been nice to have familier faces around. Not to mention the suitcase full of goodies Kim has been keeping over the last month. We have been ordering things online that Mom and Don needed and having them shipped to Kim so she could take them on her trip. What a blessing - THANKS KIM! You were a lifesaver.

The nurse sharks are still all over the place and mom was able to stand on the shoreline last week and pet stingrays as they moved by. Sounded like a pretty cool experience. The snorkeling hasn't been that great so they will try again as they move to other locations.

I haven't heard from them since last Friday but I believe the plan is to leave Georgetown later this week, weather permitting, and travel to Long Island, Bahamas. They are still planning their travels but I think the next major stop will be the Dominican Republic.

Black Point

Sorry for the delay in posts. Mom and Don are doing great and made it to a new location yesterday around lunch time. They are now at Black Point. She said it was about an hour and half trip from Staniel Cay. They are now one step closer to the goal of being in George town by 2/22.

They stayed at Staniel Cay last weekend due to the weather. Mom said the wind was blowing at 30 knots for 2 days straight so they had to spend most of their time on the boat and keeping watch on the anchor. Low tide caused them to have to move the location of the boat once. They made it fine though, just a little bored being stuck on the boat. This past week has been better and they were already having a great time in Black Point when I heard from her Thursday.

Below is a picture that mom took from the place where they parked the dingy in Staniel Cay. She says it's a nurse shark and at one point there were 7 of them and a stingray right under the dingy!!

From one island to the next

I received an email from Mom today and everything is going great. They are in Staniel Cay today. They stayed in Nassau until 2/2 but then left and have since been to Allan's Cay, Should Cay and Warderick Wells Cay. Not much in any of these places except for a beautiful view. No stores and no internet. Since arriving in Staniel Cay they have taken a great hike and enjoyed the amazing view. This area had stores, internet and water. Mom said the stores are about the size of our living rooms and there was a woman there making homemade bread for the shoppers. They are mostly sailing in banks and she said the water depth is between 2 and 20 feet.

Next stop on the plan is Black Point, about 7 miles from where they are now. They plan to make it to Georgetown by 2/22 if all goes well. They are having a ball. Communication is still not frequent but they keep me updated as they can. The most important thing is they are safe and having a ball. They are traveling with another couple they met last year so this makes them feel safe and the company is great too!

Google map view of Staniel Cay (zoomed out)

Google map view of Staniel Cay (close up)

Until the next update,

Holly

On the move...

Well, contact with Mom and Don has been sporadic at best but I wanted to give at least a short update. Everything is going great for them and they are having a wonderful time. Mom is having trouble getting her wi-fi connected so she's had one of their friends send me email updates. The weather has been nice and I think they've been eating conch for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Please see below for additional information courtesy of Wikipedia :) They left Nassau Thursday morning for another island called Exumas. I'm not 100% sure where they are anchored but it was a 6-7 hour trip from Nassau and they arrived safely around 4pm Thursday. I think they are in the general vacinity of Georgetown.


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Second in popularity only to the escargot for edible snails, the meat of conches is used as food, either eaten raw, as in salads, or cooked, as in fritters, chowders, gumbos, and burgers. All parts of the conch meat are edible.[2] However, some people find only the white meat appetizing.
In East Asian cuisines, this seafood is often cut into thin slices and then steamed or stir-fried.
In the West Indies (and The Bahamas in particular), local people eat conch in soups (commonly Callaloo) and salads. Restaurants all over the islands serve this particular meat.
In Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands (at Three Queens, Blue Hills) there is the Annual Conch Festival in November each year. Local restaurateurs compete for the best and original conch dishes, and are judged by international chefs. Free sampling of the dishes follows, and there are other competitions, events and music well into the evening, making this a very popular event for Islanders and tourists.[3]
In the island of Grenada, conch is commonly eaten in curries or in a spicy soup. It is locally referred to as lambi.
In Puerto Rico, conch is served as a ceviche: raw conch marinated in orange juice.